Guide us oh thou Christian Roberts,

Pilgrim from that barren land :)

Thou art Welsh but thou art mighty,

Guide us to the promised land -

Goals v Cardiff

Goals v Cardiff

Score them till we need no more!

Score them till we need no more!

At the time of writing (23rd March) there are a dozen seats left on a special coach for LDV Final ... details, including contact ... here

Brian Tinnion was signed by Russell Osman for a bargain 180k from Bradford City on 22nd March 1993 when we were all quite young. Two days later he laid on the first of many City goals - a consolation effort by Leroy Rosenior at the County Ground, Swindle. Now, ten years and almost as many managers later, he's treading the turf alongside Rosenior Jr!

 

To celebrate the achievement, Ciity fan David Lloyd has organised a fans’ tribute evening to take place in the Red and White bar on Thursday April 3rd - a nice little warm-up for the LDV final three days later. There are 400 tickets up for grabs at only £5 a piece and all proceeds from the evening will go to the Bristol City FA Premier Academy at Brian's request.

 

Highlights of the evening include:

 

• Video clips of Tin's greatest City moments.

• Interview and questions from the floor about his City career.

• Revelation of his top City XI, selected from colleagues at Ashton Gate since 1993.

• “Phoenix From the Flames” - Anfield, the free kick at Cambridge, that sort of caper.

• Grand Raffle

• Question Time with the panel:

• Brian Tinnion

• Tony Fawthrop

• Steve Lansdown

• Geroff Twentyman

• Plus the FAN who's City XI most closely matches Brian's own! (IT COULD BE YOU!!!)

 

Please send all Bristol City XI entries, questions for the panel and/or offers of raffle prizes to David Lloyd.

Went down the Gate tonight with me notebook to do one of those professional type-report thingamajigs. Let me know what you think!

 

Gloucestershire Senior Cup Semi-Final

City Reserves 6-0 Cheltenham Reserves

Lita 5, 7

Beadle 36

Hawkins 66

Harley 73, 89

City: Stowell, Amankwaah, Woodman (capt.), Simpson, Fortune, Rosenior,

Loxton, Hulbert, Hawkins, Beadle, Lita.

Subs: Correia, Hodgson (gk), McGuire, Harley, Metitiri.

 

City's strong reserve line-up cruised through to the final of the

Gloucestershire Senior Cup, overwhelming a young Cheltenham team comprised entirely of under-19 year olds.

 

Darren Hawkins was the star of the show, being directly involved in five of the six goals. A powerful display on first the left then the right flanks left a real impression on the mind and left Cheltenham's young team chasing shadows.

 

City lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, with Woodman at left back, Simpson and Fortune in the centre with Amankwaah at right back. Rosenior played on the right side of midfield, Loxton and Hulbert in the centre with Hawkins on the left. Beadle and Lita started up front.

 

In the very first minute Hawkins drew a good save from Danny Edwards in the Town goal, forcing the first of many corners. Good work by Hawkins on the left after five minutes saw Craig Loxton burst into the box and square for Lita to tap into an open net. A sign of things to come as Cheltenham's inexperienced defence were split open almost at will.

 

It only took another 2 minutes for City to double their lead. Hawkins raced on to a long ball and out paced his marker. His shot was parried by Edwards but Leroy Lita followed up for his second goal of the game. Cheltenham then had their one and only shot of the game as Les Davis curled a simple shot straight at Stowell. Craig Woodman then burst through some lacklustre tackling to fire just wide from the edge of the box.

 

On 15 minutes Hawkins showed good strength to get into a shooting position from Simpson's pass but Edwards saved the 1-on-1 well.

Two minutes later Robin Hulbert launched a magnificent chip from 25-yards which came back off the crossbar. A real moment of quality.  Lita drew yet another save from Edwards on the half hour after good work from Beadle and Rosenior. On 36 minutes City were 3 up. Hawkins chased a Lita flick-on on the left hand side and delivered a wicked cross into the box. Edwards brilliantly parried a Lita header but Beadle was on hand to nod home into the empty net.

 

That was about it for the first half, City thoroughly in control and poor Cheltenham left chasing shadows in front of manager Bobby Gould.

 

The second half saw more of the same, Edwards keeping out anything City could throw at him. Rosenior's shot from the edge of the box, Lita's volley and Fortune's acrobatic effort are all repelled by the custodian but it looks only a matter of time before City increased their lead.

 

And so it proved on 66 minutes as Rosenior's quick free-kick set Hawkins free down the left hand side. He kept his head, raced into the box and coolly slotted home under Edwards in front of the Atyeo stand. 4-0.  Boss Shaun Taylor made a double substitution on 72 minutes, Ryan Harley replacing Rosenior and taking up Hawkins' position on the left with Hawkins moving to the right. Lee McGuire replaced Beadle up front.

 

It proved an inspired substitution as Harley excellently fired home with his first touch following good work from Hawkins, Hulbert and McGuire on the right and a little fortune as Lita miskicked. A lovely volley into the bottom corner.

 

Harley looked very lively and his cross to Hawkins should've seen the youngster score his second but Edwards pulled off another very good save. Then Harley found himself in the clear and expertly rounded the keeper but Marvin Thompson did well to get back and clear.

 

Albano Correia - back from Rovers - replaced Leroy Lita on 80 minutes. On 82 Sekani Simpson missed a sitter from a Loxton corner, so it was left to Harley to wrap up the scoring in the 89th minute, finishing with his right foot after sent clear by McGuire.

 

Overall it was a very professional performance by the lads who were up against a far inferior side, bar keeper Edwards who kept the score in single figures. Hawkins and Harley were the stand-out men, it's particularly exciting to see Harley looking such a good prospect on the left wing - another potential star for the future emerges from the academy.

 

Ratings:

Stowell 6 - Barely touched the ball.

 

Woodman 7 - Never tested defensively but perhaps could've got forward more. Solid.

 

Fortune 8 - Pick of the bunch at the back, did his job expertly, never allowing the forwards a sniff.

 

Simpson 7 - Not as composed as Fortune but a solid showing nonetheless.

 

Amankwaah 7 - Very quiet for half an hour but came into it more after the break. Just great to see him back in a red shirt.

 

Hawkins 9 - Man of the Match. Excellent. First down the left, then the right, Darren put in cross after cross and never stopped running. Not one who would instantly strike you as a star - physically anyway - but if he continues producing performances like this then he's going to have a big future.

 

Loxton 6 - Not involved much but seemed capable when in possession. Too quiet in such a one-sided game.

 

Hulbert 6 - Like Loxton, not really involved much. Good touch on the ball. Picked up a knock in the second half but seemed to shake it off OK.

 

Rosenior 7 - Some brilliant moments but often drifted and put some over-ambitious passes astray. Too good for this sort of game really.

 

Beadle 6 - Looked unfit and slow. Won headers for fun but didn't look like a potential first-teamer.

 

Lita 8 - Always in the right place at the right time as far as goals are concerned. Only criticism is that he should've had at least 4 goals but Edwards did well. A goalscorer at heart. Caught offside too often though.

 

McGuire 7 - Looked good up front when he came and set up Harley's second. Not convinced he'll make it though - but he's still young.

 

Harley 8 - This lad looked dynamite down the left. Some cracking crosses and two excellent finishes. Show me more!

 

Correia 6 - Not long to get involved, and didn't. A reasonably enjoyable game but with Cheltenham's kids getting near bed-time the game was verging on the farce at times.

 

As usual though, reserve games are a good indicator of talent to come; Darren Hawkins and Ryan Harley really pushed their cases tonight - some of the next batch perhaps?

 

City now face either Rovers or Mangotsfield in the final - I think the Mangos would give us a stiffer test...........

 

Match facts (as compiled by me!):

Shots on target - City 14, Cheltenham, 1

Shots off target - City 4, Cheltenham 0

Corners - City 7, Cheltenham 3

Offsides - City 4, Cheltenham 3

 

Bookings/Sendings Off - City 0, Cheltenham 0

 

Attendance - 150ish.

And, after conceding a poor early goal, Taylor's team were soon into their party stride themselves playing the sort of patient, probing football that is also the hallmark of Danny Wilson's first team at its best. It was like watching a cat torment a mouse as City starved their hosts of possession except for the odd poor first touch in forward areas; even from the ensuing breaks there was no respite as City hit back hard and fast when the opportunities arose.

 

City: Stowell - Amankwaah, Metitri (Bailey 65), Fortune, Woodman - Rosenior, Loxton, Hulbert, Hawkins - Lita, Correia (Allcock 76)  SNU: Hodgson, Simpson, McGuire

 

Eyecatchers: Woodman, Hawkins, Allcock

 

Activity Log

because the "relegation form" of Jan/Feb sees City standing on the cusp of either chucking away a whole season, or rediscovering the form that saw us in an automatic promotion placing as recently as New Year.

Earlier in the season we were brushing teams aside, playing an irresistible brand of attacking football, so what has gone wrong?

The tables below show that performance has declined steadily since the high water mark at the end of October while results held up until the end of December and then nosedived. These landmarks enable the season so far to be conveniently broken down into four sets of eight matches each.

The harsh reality of adverse results states the obvious: draws against Luton, Plymouth, Stockport and Brentford, alongside defeats by Wycombe, Wigan, Colchester and Notts County have led to a dreadful points haul over the last eight games compared to the preceding 2pts/game form. The dearth of goals scored over this run is immediately apparent from the first table.

 

RESULTS	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1-8	5	0	3	13	7	15
9-16	6	0	2	18	8	18
17-24	4	4	0	19	11	15
25-32	0	4	4	4	10	4
Total	15	8	9	54	36	53

 

The second table looks more closely at the performance in front of goal at either end of the pitch: whereas in the first 24 matches we scored 50 goals from 266 attempts (ave 5.3 shots per goal) the four scored in 2003 have needed 27.3 shots a piece!

Perhaps the attack was feeling the strain of having to chase games as a result of the defence conceding goals too cheaply? The defensive decline began before the attacking one: in the first 16 matches, opponents were asked to create 10.9 shots for every goal scored against City, since match 17 (*that* one at Mansfield) they have only needed 6.1 shots per goal. But perhaps the defence get the jitters when they see so many chances being wasted at the other end of the pitch?

 

SHOTS PER GOAL	FOR				AGIN
	Shots	%on	Gls	SPG	Shots	%on	Gls	SPG
1-8	94	61	13	7.2	77	52	7	11.0
9-16	84	66	18	4.6	87	51	8	10.9
17-24	90	58	19	4.7	70	63	11	6.4
25-32	109*	47	4	27.3	58**	57	10	5.8
Total	375	57	54	6.9	292	54	36	8.1

*   You need to create more if you keep missing!

** They don't need to create so many if we let them in too easily!

 

Finally, the importance of taking the early chances, especially, can’t be overstated. Because, being in the lead should put you in control of the match in line with the oft-quoted maxim “goals change games” – City are actually very good at this because 38 of this season’s points have come from the 15 games we’ve scored first in and only 12 pts from the 14 where the opposition have been allowed first blood.

Unfortunately, the longer this season has gone on the more often we’ve found ourselves chasing the game and whilst its great to come back and win - as we have at Cheltenham, Mansfield and at home to Notts County – how much more convincing would the promotion claims be if the sensational record of taking the lead in eight consecutive games (as we did in October) be rediscovered?

 

FIRST GOAL SCORED	FOR	Ave Time	0-0	AGIN	Ave Time	F/A
1-8	4	48	0	4	53	1.00
9-16	7	18	0	1	70	7.00
17-24	3	37	1	4	36	0.75
25-32	1	10	2	5	37	0.20
Totals	15	29	3	14	43	1.07

 

Outlining the problems as above is one thing, coming up with the solutions quite another and that is where the manager and his coaching staff come in. Robins can only be a good move as only Shaun Goater’s City record in recent times bears comparison in this division.

Whilst his 24 goals in 42 apps took Rotherham up with a very low shots-to-goal ratio, it should be recognised that was in tandem with a very mean defence. The hope hereabouts must be that his presence will bolster the confidence and self-belief of our existing goalgetters and help them rediscover their excellent early season form. If so, allied to the luck every side needs, the goals they score between them could put enough games out of sight for the soft goals conceded to be less embarassing.

Hotpot (Stockport, 28/12/02) - no feeling of Christmas left-overs in this one, where in Danny Wilson's words Stockport were flattered to lose by only 1-4 ... more ... on a playing surface even better than Ashton Gate at its best (which it wasn't on Boxing day), City strolled through the home defence almost at will. But for hitting the post, being denied an obvious penalty and a number of fine saves from Emberson City could have run up a scoreline in double figures.

Great to see goals coming from youngsters Coles and Rosenior, and a much improved performance from Lee Peacock.

 

Cold Turkey (Plymouth, 26/12/02) - a jaded performance from a City side that looked mentally and physically weary and yet, such is the foolishness of this game, one that proved good enough to leap-frog over Cardiff into a promotion spot. City's best efforts against a Plymouth side dressed up like traffic cones were from long range courtesy of defenders Hill and Coles; referee Hall had distinctly different ideas about what merited a yellow card depending on the colour of the shirt but did not affect the result. In short, an eminently forgettable match.

 

Travesty Avoided (Luton, 21/12/02) - all good runs must come to an end but how aggrieved would we have felt if the current run had been ended by the soft goal granted to a Luton side that offered nothing but old-style Wimbledon "spoiling tactics" all afternoon? (adequately reflected in the card count) ... more ... City were no better or worse than in many other performances this season except in one key regard, which was the quality of the final ball into the box. Too often this was overhit to an unpopulated far post or played behind forwards who had already made their move; nobody seems to hang back.

That said, the woodwork still saved the visitors on three occasions after excellent efforts from Peacock, Doherty and Beadle. Added to that bad luck, there was the woeful officiating from Mr Cooper and his Wiltshire (oh the shame!) linesmen who between them invented a ludicrous offside against Peacock when the ball came back from the bar! and pretended not to see the clear push on Liam Rosenior as he waited under the rebound from Tommy's effort.

One thing they got right was the Thug Davis' dismissal and it is to be hoped they properly report his second elbow on Tommy and inciting remark to the crowd as he left the field. As he showed in his Swindon days - and with the (unpunished) late high lunge that put Joe Burnell out of this game - he really is a nasty piece of work and needs to learn hard lessons fast.

 

Onward Christian Roberts! (Cardiff, 14/12/02) - dream return to Ninian Park for the Roberts boyo ... more ... a supremely well-organised and disciplined City outfit made the short trip over the Severn and clinically despatched the Cardiff challenge in this promotion six-pointer. The Rodneys had made most of the noise in the build-up to the game but seeing so many of them leaving the ground early said it all.

Job done - bring on the Luton!

 

Four seasons in one day (Notts Co, 04/12/02) - the first attempt to play Notts County ended in a downpour of biblical proportions that flooded Ashton Gate just after half-time ... more ... just about the only thing this replay had in common was that County took the lead through a soft goal.
Recent events suggest that City would have found the spirit to recover anyway (as they did this time) but the worrying thing is the number and type of goals City are conceding to teams that they have totally outplayed. Moreover, distinct signs of defensive frailties were apparent in a performance that was far Dr Jeckyll than Mr Hyde.
Bottom Line ..."Entertaining and successful is an attractive combination, but City supporters could probably do without the acccompanying stress and they should beware: in football, justice and sloppiness do not normally keep each other company for long." - Tom Dart, The Times

 

It's good to be back! (01/12/02) - unfortunately, system failures took BCL! offline for most of October and November but I'm pleased to say that we're back up-and-running normally again ... and what a pleasure it has been to note the lad's progress in the meantime! ... more ... If you check out the 2001/02 link below you'll see that the following aspects of performance were identified as candidates for improvement, particularly in terms of the "inner game":
* goals in the last five minutes of matches,
* record against the teams above us (and cup matches),
* set pieces at both ends of the pitch
So far so good then as the stats listed left help to illustrate. Mentally and physically the squad look to have made a necessary stride forward and now, as last year, we must hope to avoid too many problems with injuries and suspensions amongst the key players.
As for the 2002/03 preview below, the counter was given to the gloom-and-doom merchants who predicted mid-table mediocrity or worse - where now all those siren voices who said City would miss Tony Thorpe?
It remains to be seen how our nearest rivals would cope with the level of injuries our squad has already endured. To the squad's great credit we have still averaged 2pts/game to this point yet the quality of the division this season is underlined by the fact that Wigan and Cardiff have a better record. Crewe showed yesterday that with their best team available they too will be a force.
Bottom line ... ... three red cards & two penalties given away and the only time neither of these things happened we came back to win (albeit vs the poorest side we've played).

But the real question, if we're going to make a habit of playing with ten men (even the rezzies got in on the act yesterday), is how come Wigan can do it and still score twice to win at Tranmere whereas its always used as an excuse for our defeats?

 

BCL! Offline for 6 weeks due to system failure :(

 

MATCH REPORT (Chesterfield, 07/10/02) - big scorelines should always be treated with a bit of caution ... more ... for fear of complacency setting in. In general, I've always felt they say more about the beaten side than the victors and Chesterfield were certainly made to look a very pedestrian outfit by the fleet-footedness of Aaron Brown, Chris Roberts and Scoot Murray running onto Tin's quality passes.

However, you can only beat what turns up to oppose you and they can only look as good as you let them. The 4-0 scoreline was, boosted by two late strikes from Scoot, was far from unfair, indeed it wouldn't have been unfair as the half-time score - only two/three saves from the top drawer by Muggleton stood between the spirites and complete humiliation.

City's whole approach was marvelously positive and I must say that the aspect of play that impressed me most was the tenacity of our work in closing-down the opposition all over the field; some of our tackling was superb with every man earning his week's corn in full measure - having set their standard I look forward to seeing them uphold it.
 

 

Well done Benny Lennartsson - BCL! takes its hat off to you!!! ... he pointed the way forward at Ashton Gate (but the board brought in Pulis instead), now he's pointed the way out for Bates' bumblers.

 

The Lita of Hope? (Port Vale, 01/10/02) ... no sign of an end to City's topsy-turvy early season form, but ... more ... could Leroy Lita's first league goal, in added time at Port Vale, be the beacon of hope we need to carry into the next couple of months' fixtures?

A quarter of the season gone and somehow the expression "curate's egg" springs to mind. Every time you thought City might have rumbled what it takes to put together a run of consistently good form someone got himself sent off and/or gave away a penalty.

Pro rata to BCL!'s 90pt promotion target eleven matches would have yielded 21pts, i.e. three more than we have actually achieved ... take a look at the matchfacts for the Brentford game, for example, and you'll see how very slight is the difference between success and failure. The manager, consistent as ever, has been at pains on several occasions to point out the importance of taking the chances that do come your way. Moreover, the phrase "goals change matches" has become something of a mantra with him - a quick check of the relationship between the team that scores the first goal and the outcome of the match shows why.

Bottom Line ... by sheer happenstance, I saw Christopher "Superman" Reeve's interview with David Frost on Sunday morning. In it he pointed out that the difference between HOPE and mere optimism or wishful thinking was that true hope has something concrete underpinning it.

In relation to this season, I believe City can retain hope based on our ability to create enough chances for ourselves which - IF THE MISTAKES CAN BE CUT DOWN - would be enough to underpin a renewed challenge.

Let's hope the next month or two brings Manager of the Month form because it can be done!
 

Confessional (QPR, 22/09/02): It's all my fault! ... more ... five wins? I've seen them all - five defeats?, I've not seen one of them! And the bad news is I'm not likely to see more than a couple more away games this season, so that's a maximum 75pts.

This time last week I commented the next two matches were against the only other teams in the top seven we hadn't already played. City being City we found different ways of losing them both, suggesting there's still some way to go on grafting the necessary character on to a squad that has the potential to achieve. Has it the ambition, the belief and the daring though?

 

Random Thought (18/09/02): Five away matches, conceding the first goal every time ... more we can beat any side in the division on our day and have shown good signs that we know how to hold our nerve ... fingers crossed!    

 

MATCH NOTES (Cheltenham, 15/09/02): I've only seen City five times this season and those are the ones we've won! ... more ... last season City waited until the end of December to come from behind to win a match so let's hope the character displayed today is stored away in the squad's collective subconscious memory for future good use as and when ... also, by this same time next week we'll have played all of the other teams in the current top seven; let's not get too carried away but it will be interesting to see what the table looks like when they can all say the same thing!

Danny's team selection raised a few eyebrows before the game and also the question whether we'd form up in 3-5-2 or 4-4-2; in the event, both were used in that order for half-a-game each with the ever flexible Joe B being the man to drop from midfield to right back. It is probable that the upcoming Oldham and QPR games were part of the reasoning for resting Tins and Roberts - veterans have to be used sparingly especially after injury and the latter can't be expected to run himself into the ground every match.

Leaving the first two minutes aside, City really should have had this sewn up long before Matthews' screaming free kick early in the second half. Its an excellent sign that we came from behind twice to win but, on the other hand, we missed about six good chances before they took the lead for the second time and, frankly, their defence was pants. Such pressure as we were under came from our own mistakes, giving the ball away and free kicks in midfield so they could aim them at Alsopp's big head.

However, we did work 'ard and let's hope that continues to be the case because we'll need to when we play better teams than Cheltenham.

Footnote: quite how the ref could justify booking Aaron Brown for an untidy but genuine challenge for the ball, yet allow deliberate late tackles by Alsopp, Yates and McCauley to go unpunished only he will know (possibly).
 

 

Personal note (07/09/02): now that's what I call a birthweek! - seeing City teams in action three times, scoring 11 goals without reply (and  Glamorgan won twice to go clear at the top of the one-day league)

 

MATCH NOTES: Leapy Relishes the Bristol Nightlife (Northampton, 06/0/02) ... Cobblers join a growing list of clubs to leave Bristol with nothing to show ... more ... "and now you've gotta believe us!", the City's gotta chance.

Just think, even average luck away from home with our shots that hit the post, penalties awarded against us and earrly dismissals ... and we'd probably have accrued five points more than the current haul, which would have us sitting top of the league. That will come, sure as eggs is eggs because this side is improving all the time; probably our best since the mid-70s, and with the same nucleus of home produced talent.

Tony Butler once gain underlined his status as the missing ingredient: a seasoned pro with a winning way about him, been there, done that, seen it, heard it ... oozing confidence to those around him.

Mssrs Hulbert, Doherty, Clist, Woodman and Burnell all up for it - showing that as long as places are up for grabs they'll be scrapping tooth and nail to see their name on the teamsheet.

Chris Roberts providing the vital ambition and pace in the front line that sees him prepared to hound and harry defenders to distraction for every minute he's on the pitch.

But BCL!'s man of this match has to be two-goal hero Lee Peacock who looked to be right back  on his game under the AG floodlights - perhaps he's just a creature of the night who doesn't like playing in daylight?

 

MATCH NOTES: Gloucs Senior Cup Final - Emphatic Win for  Rezzies (Cirencester, 03/09/02) ... Corinium falls to Shaun Taylor's young Turks ... more ... Cirencester Town 0-6 City Reserves

CITY (3-4-1-2): Myhill
Gardner - Metitri - Fortune
Rosenior (Harley, 67) - Clist (Shanahan, 67) - Cleverley - Burke
Brown,M (Loxton, 82)
Correia (>Brown,M, 82) - Beadle

The first impressions of CTFC's brand new Corinium Stadium are entirely favourable located as it is on a greenfield site on the Eastern edge of the old Roman town. The supporters bar is lavishly appointed by the standards of any football club with a wide screen TV to benefit the local ManU-factured "fans" and as decent a pint of Wadworths' 6X as you'll find anywhere.

It is when you see the playing surface that the true nature of the greenfield becomes more apparent. As with so many new sports grounds, the drainage seems to have been an afterthought to the schedule of works with the extensive sand-slitting carried out only last month still very much in evidence. It was then greatly to the credit of both sides that they were able to serve up such a good game of football, played at a lively pace, on a pitch where the bounce was something of  lottery.

With the exception of grandfather figure Peter Beadle, leading the City line as part of his quest for match fitness, both teams were very much at the younger end of the scale and set a brisk pace from the start. The home team comprised several players signed from the now defunct Cirencester Academy FC, City's was essentially of graduates and current scholars at our FA Premier Academy. The longer the game went on, the
more clear it became that the ability to perform at sustained pace would be the final arbiter of the result - and so it was no surprise that the full-time professionals prevailed. But for the assurance of on-loan Boaz Myhill in goal, however, Cirencester would surely have had a goal or two to cheer as reward for their endeavours.

Action Log (mins)

10 Great save by Myhill at full stretch

15 Correia shot from acute angle well saved (but should have squared it to Beadle for a tap-in)

23 Whilst on his backside Rosenior flicks the ball to Correia who, breaking with support on each side, curls a shot from the edge of the area with the outside of his right boot through the keeper's fingers into the net ... 1-0

30 Beadle commits a foul in midfield then their kiddy tries to make a name for himself by coming over all Roy Keane about it

37 Subtle flick from Beads to play in the onrushing Rosenior who's shot is parried for a corner which he then plants on the forehead of the late arriving Marvin. Quality ... 2-0

38 Marvin sent clear by astute ball from Clist and cooly lobs the keeper ... 3-0

40 Now its open season, Clisty hits the post with a neatly worked effort from 15 yards; Correia finds keeper's legs in the way in a one-on-one and Clist's follow up chip is plucked from under the bar by the recovering keeper.

46 Myhill "stays big" to block a home effort created by deflection off referee Wilkes.

Half-Time: notable for an Aaron Shanahan practice shot clearing the safety netting behind the goal!

50 Beads again plays Liam in only for the keeper to parry but this time it falls to Albano to stab home his second ... 4-0

60 Albano misses a sitter for his hat-trick (right foot)

62 Ditto! (header)

63 Marvin sends decent shot just wide

64 Boaz does well to parry a good volley from a corner

67 Albano gets it right as he heads in from Burke's corner (has to celebrate on his own though) ... 5-0

73 Double instinctive saves from keeper Myhill

75 Shanahan belies his half-time form with a jinking run into the box from Burke's pass and tucks away a lovely goal ... 6-0

86 Loxton pushes one wide

Awards Ceremony - the usual surreal affair "masterminded" by blazered county FA fossils, floundering hopelessly in the face of new-fangled technology such as microphones!
 

 

MATCH NOTES: Random Reffing Goes Our Way for a Change (Tranmere, 31/08/02) ... another match where it seemed the opposition ploy of playing for a point would prevail ... more ... however, not for the first time already this season it fell to a refereeing decision to turn the match.

Unlike the penalties awarded against us at Brentford and Plymouth, here our luck was in as Mr Warren awarded a kick for handball against visiting defender Graham Allen. Matt Hill, in particular will know how the player felt about it but the point has to be made that the referee was certainly at fault minutes earlier in turning down penalty claims when Christian Roberts was flattened when clean through on goal.

With the fourth most successful penalty taker in Bristol City's post-war history (Mickey Bell) already back in the changing room injured, Brian Tinnion accepted the responsibilty and executed the kick with aplomb. Soon after ward Scoot consolidated the scoreline with a snapshot from a Robin Hulbert corner.

Running through the line-up, Steve Phillips had little to do until the making a superb low save at his left-hand post in the 90th minute and he obviously benefitted from the commanding presence of Tony Butler in front of him - assured in the air and on the ground, confirming everything that has been said over the last few years about the need for such a player. On either side of him Matt Hill and Joe Burnell had the pace to deal with anything he couldn't handle.

Craig Woodman operating this week at left wing-back once again demonstrated his class and potential; inside him Mickey Bell didn't last long before being forced out with an ankle injury but Simon Clist substituted with increasing confidence as the match went on. In the middle, Tins was Tins - looking as though he'd never been away and to his right Robin Hulbert (my MOTM) had an excellent game in place of the injured Doc.

Scoot was at his most frustrating today at one time horribly overhitting the ball when it only needed a square pass for Peacock to open the scoring. The latter huffed and puffed but still gives a lack-lustre impression compared to what we know he's capable of. Last but by no means least Christian Roberts was again a constant nuisance to the Tranmere defence, never allowing them a moments peace to settle on balls out of our defence - again, ensuring the game was played more in the opposition's half than was ever the case with Tony Thorpe (a non-playing sub for Luton today) watching the game pass him by.

 

MATCH NOTES: Choirboys 3-0 Chairboys (Wycombe, 24/08/02)... with three 19 year-olds and a 21 year-old in the back four, City's line-up could have been mistaken for altar boys. But if it was men against boys to start with, it was more a case of boys becoming men as the game progressed ... more ... however, in general I only see home games so I'm only seeing half the job - the better half!

The fine win over Wycombe is to be applauded - to continue in choral vein, the chorus of Smetena's "Bartered Bride" includes the sentiment only they are truly happy who enjoy life while they may. And if we can't celebrate victories over bogey teams using a very young side we had just as well pack it all in.

Unfortunately, this win was preceded by defeats at Brentford and Wigan and followed by one at Plymouth where in each case the folly of youth (sendings-off and penalties) cost us the all important opening goals. The young bucks are good enough to learn from such mistakes and they will do so; unfortunately, it seems with City there is never the wherewithal in the rest of the team to overcome such setbacks ... or to take the early chances that would settle the team's nerves.

The leadership qualities of the player(s) we have needed for so long have long been identified and, indeed, articulated  by the manager himself ... nevertheless the "wait for Godot" goes on.
 

 

MATCH NOTES: Something to build on? (Blackpool, 12/08/02) ... 2001/02 saw twelve players start over half of City's matches, seven of whom were on the pitch for the first whistle of 2002/03: Bell, Murray, Peacock, Doherty, Brown(A), Burnell and Hill ... more  ... of the others Mark Lever was on the bench, replaced in the line-up by  Keith Millen, newly resurrected as player-coach; Roberts effectively came in for the departed Thorpe; Stowell and Carey were injured with Phillips and Coles their replacements; the twelfth place saw Liam Rosenior standing in for the injured Tinman.

The net effect was a line-up some one and a half years younger than last season's average of 27 yrs (which is no bad thing).

Early on Christian Roberts created a chance for himself to start making inroads into the meagre number of times Tony Thorpe gave City the lead last year (four) but it was not to be.

In the event it was the man with the best record in that respect Lee Peacock (seven) who broke the stalemate, the fact that it came from a corner should be grounds for celebration in itself!

Scoot's last minute goal did not affect the result but was obviously very welcome, memorable for those of us in the Williams stand for the way the Atyeo started to cheer with the ball still 20 yards from goal.

The donkey-lashers led by their ex-Swindle manager may complain that being down to nine men "cost them the game". However, the fact is that until the laws of the game are changed to allow players to kick and punch their opponents off the ball they will run the risk of falling to their own indiscipline.

The sight of their goalkeeper (in the way that keepers regularly get away with in their own area) running into a red shirt in a bid to gain a penalty had us both holding our breath and giggling at the same time, but Steve Phillips quick thinking and Scott Murray's quick feet meted its own poetic justice.

Bottom Line ... not the most convincing of performances but there were signs in the later stages, albeit against nine men, of better interplay between Peacock and Roberts; Lita and Rosenior looked brimming with energy and confidence; finally, a word for Mickey Bell who's body and its language looks to have got back to the player we've long known he can be.